Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Plazas

Myth Busted: Safer Streets Are Not Slowing Emergency Responders

By Brad Aaron | Jan 3, 2013 | 9 Comments

A go-to NIMBY argument against safe street improvements is that bike lanes, pedestrian plazas, and ped refuge islands interfere with emergency responders. In 2009, one complainer at an event sponsored by then-Council Member Alan Gerson claimed that pedestrian islands on Grand Street “put lives in danger” by slowing down fire trucks and ambulances. Opponents of the […]

Brooklyn CB 2 Committee Unanimously Supports Permanent Fowler Plaza

By Stephen Miller | Dec 19, 2012 | 4 Comments

Last night Brooklyn Community Board 2’s transportation committee voted 7-0, with one abstention, to support the conversion of Fowler Square Plaza in Fort Greene from a temporary public space to a permanent feature of the neighborhood. The committee vote followed a DOT presentation showing that Fowler Square Plaza has had a minimal impact on traffic and […]

Tonight: Permanent Fort Greene Plaza Up for a Vote at Brooklyn CB 2

By Ben Fried | Dec 18, 2012 | 4 Comments

A reminder for readers who live in and around Fort Greene: The Brooklyn Community Board 2 transportation committee is taking up the matter of Fowler Square plaza tonight, and if you head over to 180 Remsen Street to weigh in, you can help this new public space become a permanent neighborhood fixture. NYC DOT installed […]

Monday: Help “Post Plaza” Take Shape Across the Street From Peter Luger

By Ben Fried | Dec 14, 2012 | 1 Comment

We’ve got a heads up for an event early next week. There’s a public plaza in the works for the triangle where Bedford Avenue meets Broadway in Brooklyn, right by the Williamsburg Bridge. As you can see, there’s currently a lake of asphalt occupying some space that could be doing a whole lot more for […]

Public Takes to Plazas in East New York and Fort Greene

By Stephen Miller | Dec 5, 2012 | 2 Comments

This weekend, three Brooklyn plazas became hubs of neighborhood activity. In East New York, Saturday evening saw a community tree lighting, along with local performers and community organizations, at New Lots Triangle on Livonia Avenue. In prior years, the tree was situated in a tiny patch of asphalt between three streets, but in 2011 DOT expanded the plaza […]

Businesses on Fowler Square Plaza: Go Ahead, Make It Permanent

By Stephen Miller | Nov 20, 2012 | 3 Comments

DOT is scheduled to go before Community Board 2’s transportation committee on December 18 with plans to make the new pedestrian plaza at Fowler Square in Fort Greene a permanent redesign. Before the city went ahead with reclaiming this block of North Elliott Place for the plaza, a small, vocal contingent — mostly upset that they would […]

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